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Lightning strikes once a minute

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Not really, in the U.S. alone it averages once each second!

There’s a network of antennas that detects and counts each lightning flash in the U.S..Over the years it's counted an annual average of 25,000,000 cloud to ground flashes. Because the average flash strikes the ground more than once, there are about 30,00,000 strikes a year, or about one per second.

There are regional differences with some regions experiencing much higher occurrence. Florida is the U.S. "Lightning Champ."

Worldwide, there are 16,000,000 thunderstorms a year, with about 1,800 going on at any moment. Lightning bolts reach 50,000 degrees and their normal length is five miles, but one monster was measured at over 100 miles. Be aware that when the "flash to bang" interval is five seconds the lightning is only one mile away and you are well withing range of a 100,000,000 volt "tickle", so it’s a good time to get indoors.

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